


One Thousand And Four Voices

by permetaform (ladywinter)



Category: Saiyuki, Saiyuki Gaiden
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-26
Updated: 2011-01-26
Packaged: 2017-10-15 03:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/156415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladywinter/pseuds/permetaform
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Cause haven't you ever wondered about the logistics of Hakkai's limiters?  Written for the 100_roadtrips's Ghost challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Thousand And Four Voices

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.  
 **Spoilers:** for Vol 5  


* * *

_[One thousand voices...]_

The residual youki of the thousand dead pushes at him, now, he could sense it, now, they speak to him, now.

 _Leave_ , they scream.

The bodies are piled around him, demons, demon prince, and.

Her’s.

 _Leave_. The sentiment flows from the mouths of their open wounds; his own hisses up at him from his belly. His hand presses down, to stem the words, and they stutter.

Something stings at him.

Oh, his _claws_.

Some instinct of his youkai-body tells him, in the silence, _how_ to leave.

And, somehow, rain hits his body as his body hits the floor and the floor is not stone.

It’s the muddy compacted dirt of a road.

_[one steel song...]_

He lies there, in the rain, no he’s not lying there he’s standing and he hasn’t lost his glasses and a man ( _man?_ ) is standing before him who shines and. Who is this? Static person ( _person?_ ) put into motion, he--

Knows this glowing one. Young, for one so old. Innocent, for one in the middle of such corruption. This one _shines_ , and not with the slime of rot.

In many ways, his ( _his?_ ) duty is to protect this brilliance from taint.

And for that he needs more control than this body has.

One steel band, made of will, snaps on.

_[one metal chime...]_

He thinks, with a choke of air, that he must be dreaming, delusional; he does not know who he thinks of, he does not know whose thoughts these are, he does not have a duty to anyone ( _not any more_ ), he does not know who--

This child, moving like he knows the ground will always be there because he creates it because he’s part of it because as long as he knows where the sky is ( _where the sun is_ ) he will be able to stand.

 _(Ten-chan, where are you?)_

A second steel band, like a smile curling open, appears.

_[one welded ring...]_

His wound burns, and he makes it burn more, clawing at himself to regain what there is of him because he does not know who he is anymore, this _beast_ filling his head with thoughts ( _memories_ ) that he does not ( _should not_ ) know, what is this--

Hand, seeping up his side, liquid, languorous. It is a question and a request ( _will you stay here?_ ) and he arches into the body, spooned behind him, in reply. There is a smell of cherry wood ( _stay?_ ) and something alive ( _please?_ ).

A third steel band, like laughter, comes home.

And he is human again.

_[...and one final blessing.]_

The rain hits him and he thinks in the wide-open space of his mind, almost warily, that he might be alone in his thoughts once more. He thinks he knows who he is again. He thinks he might go to sleep now, it’s getting warm.

Mud squishes beside him and he knows he did not move, so it must be someone else.

He opens his eyes and red that is like blood greets him ( _stay?_ ).

Is this death? Red-that-is-like-blood reminds him of the dead and the death that he gave.

If this red is death, he welcomes it.

Tenpou smiles.


End file.
